Total tractor sales in October fell about 8%, with utility tractors (40-100 horsepower) showing the only growth at up 6%. Compact tractor (under 40 horsepower) sales fell 11% last month and high horsepower tractors (over 100 horsepower) fell 18%.
Worldwide economic unrest along with political unrest both here and abroad has placed a black cloud over the U.S. agricultural economy and has slowed large equipment sales to almost a crawl.
The downturn that we are experiencing today is certainly as dramatic as those early ones, but today farmers are not encumbered with massive debt and the current interest rates are very reasonable for those who have debts to service. This certainly is not a pleasant experience for anyone in the industry, but there is much more optimism than in previous downturns.
While the majority of producers are still buying their equipment outright, there continues to be a number of farmers who have been nudged toward lease contracts in order to conserve capital and still have new, dependable equipment with which to farm their land.
Each monthly issue of Ag Equipment Intelligence is like getting one-on-one personal advice from the world's most trusted ag equipment industry experts. Advice that hasn't been watered down or distorted by outside influence, providing the latest and most insightful farm equipment analysis. AEI explores where the ag equipment industry is going — not just where it's been. No filler. No bias. No conflict of interest. You can access the PDF issue archive by clicking here.
Precision ag pioneer Al Myers is a member of the Farm Equipment Shortline Legends Hall of Fame 2024 class. It’s been almost 35 years since the Ag Leader founder introduced the groundbreaking Yield Monitor 2000.